- having regard to the statement by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, of 6 January 2016 on the alleged nuclear test in DPRK,

- having regard to the UN Secretary-General's statement of 6 January 2016 on the Nuclear Test announced by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,

- having regard to the UN Security Council Resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874(2009), 2087(2013) and 2094(2013) which explicitly ban nuclear tests by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

- having regard to the UN General Assembly resolution of 17 December 2015 on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

- having regard to the UN report "Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 2015: Needs and Priorities" of 1 April 2015,

- having regard to the UN Human Rights Council resolution of 27 March 2015 on the Situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,

- having regard to the report of the Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea of 7 February 2014,

- having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to all of which the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a party,

- having regard to the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,

- having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the Government of the DPRK has stated that it carried out a nuclear test on 6 January 2016;

B. whereas the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery represents a threat to international peace and security; whereas the DPRK withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003, andhas been conducting nuclear tests since 2006 and officially declared in 2009 that it had developed a nuclear weapon which means that the threat of the advancement of its nuclear capabilities has clearly amplified; whereas the pursuit of illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programmes constitutes a challenge to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and risks aggravating regional tensions;

C. whereas the country, with its military-focused economy, is far from achieving its stated goal of becoming a strong and prosperous nation and has instead increasingly isolated and impoverished its people through its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery;

D. whereas the EU strongly supports the idea of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, and considers the resumption of the Six-Party Talks to be essential for peace, security and stability in the region;

E. whereas the DPRK regime has not cooperated with the UN and has rejected all UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly resolutions regarding human rights in North Korea; whereas it has failed to cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the country, and has rejected all assistance from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights;

F. whereas following the Human Rights Council resolution on 27 March 2015 a first - ever meeting took place between North Korean diplomats and Marzuki Darusman, the HRC Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea;

G. whereas the European Union is a defender and promoter of human rights and democracy in the world; whereas the EU-DPRK human rights dialogue resumed in 2015 after being suspended by the DPRK since 2003;

H. whereas the DPRK Government does not allow any political opposition, free and fair elections, free media, religious freedom, freedom of association, collective bargaining or freedom of movement;

I. whereas the DPRK state authorities systematically perpetrate extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention and disappearances, including in the form of abductions of foreign nationals, interning more than 100 000 people in prison and ‘re-education’ camps;

J. whereas the people of the DPRK have been exposed to decades of under-development, with poor health care and high levels of maternal and child malnutrition, in a context of political and economic isolation, recurrent natural disasters and international increases in food and fuel prices; whereas the DPRK is violating the right to food of its people;

1. Strongly condemns the fourth nuclear test of 6 January 2016 as an unnecessary and dangerous provocation as well as a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and serious threat to the peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the North East Asian Region; supports meaningful and effective sanctions following the recent nuclear test to be decided upon by the international community;

2. Urges the DPRK to refrain from further provocative actions by abandoning its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, cease all related activities and comply with all its international obligations, including the UN Security Council and IAEA board of governors resolutions as well as other international disarmament and non-proliferation norms; calls on the DPRK to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty without delay and to abide by its commitments under the 19 September 2005 Six-Party Talks;

3. Calls on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to exert its increased influence and political and economic leverage over the DPRK to ensure that the situation does not escalate further; calls on the Chinese government to faithfully join the international sanctions regime against the DPRK and fully co-operate with members of the Security Council as a leading country in Asia; calls the People's Republic of China to take all the necessary steps, in cooperation with the international community, in order to restore peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.

4. Welcomes the UN General Assembly resolution of 17 December 2015 on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which was supported by all the EU Member States; calls on the EU and it Member States to continue to address the grave human rights situation in the DPRK;

5. Calls on VP /HR Federica Mogherini to use expert capacity of South Korea in formulating the EU strategy towards DPRK; calls on VP/HR to monitor the further developments in the DPRK and to report back to the European Parliament so that the issue of Human rights in the DPRK stays high on the EU's political agenda; believes that the EU has a constructive role to play through its critical engagement with the DPRK's government;

6. Is convinced that the time has come for the international community to take concrete action to end the perpetrators’ impunity; demands that those most responsible for the crimes against humanity committed in the DPRK be held accountable, brought before the International Criminal Court and subjected to targeted sanctions;

7. Expresses its deep concern about the persisting deterioration of the Human Rights situation in the DPRK; calls on the Government of the DPRK to fulfil its obligations under the human rights instruments to which it is a party, and to ensure that humanitarian organisations, independent human rights monitors and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK have access to the country and are provided with the necessary cooperation;

8. Seriously condemns the systematic use of the death penalty in the DPRK on a large scale, calls on the Government of the DPRK to declare a moratorium on all executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty in the near future; calls on the DPRK to put an end to extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, to release political prisoners and to allow its citizens to travel freely, both within and outside the country; calls on the DPRK to allow free expression and press freedom for national and international media, and to allow its citizens uncensored access to the internet;

9. Urges the DPRK government to stop its state-forced labour program under which foreign countries, including Russia, China and the Middle East, have hired tens of thousands of North Korean labourers under illegal conditions mainly in mining, logging, textile and construction projects which has generated hard currency to help maintain the regime; reminds that in this case the responsibility to protect labour rights extends to the hosting states that should ensure the protection of labour and human rights standards;

10. Condemns the severe restrictions on the freedoms of thought, conscience, religion or belief, opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, discrimination based on the songbun system, which classifies people on the basis of State-assigned social class and birth, and also includes consideration of political opinions and religion;

11. Expresses its particular concern about the severity of the food situation the country is facing and its impact on the economic, social and cultural rights of the population; calls on the Commission to maintain existing humanitarian aid programmes and channels of communication with the DPRK, and to secure their safe delivery to the targeted parts of the population; calls on the DPRK authorities to ensure access for all citizens to food and humanitarian assistance on the basis of need, in accordance with humanitarian principles;

12. Urges the DPRK Government to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry without delay;

13. Calls upon the DPRK to continue to engage constructively with international interlocutors with a view to promoting concrete improvements in the human rights situation on the ground, including through dialogues, official visits to the country and more people-to-people contact;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the EU Special Representative on Human Rights, the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Government of the Republic of Korea, the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK, and the UN Secretary-General.